From the dawn of time, humans used renewable energy sources such as the sun, wind and the seas. People in ancient Persia and the Middle East around 500-900 AD used vertical-axis windmills to mill grain and pump water. Today, the rise of environmental pollution has posed major health hazards to our planet's population and has caused a negative impact on global economy. Many industrialized nations have acted to tap renewable energy sources such as wind energy. In 2014, China had a substantial wind generation capacity of 114,763 Megawatts. In the United States, Texas produced 36 million megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity in 2014.
Wind turbines comprise 2-3 huge propeller-like blades that turn a rotor that is linked to a generator to produce electricity, thus converting wind to electrical power. Current wind turbines have blades that rotate 10-20 revolutions per minute, which translates to a speed of 120 to 180 mph at the tips of the blades with wind speeds of 13 to 15 mph or more. Wind speeds of 9 mph (4 meters/second) are generally needed to turn the blades of a wind turbine. The blades or vanes rotate clockwise as seen from the front and are often controlled by a microprocessor that evaluates the speed and direction of the wind. The blades or vanes are aerodynamic to efficiently convert the wind force to rotational energy and eventually electric energy. The blades are connected to a gearbox or directly to the generator converting mechanical rotation to electrical energy.
The limitations of the majority of conventional wind turbines is that the blades rotate in only one direction, they utilize one set of blades per tower, and they only rotate in vertical orientation. Winds are not always 100% horizontal or 100% easterly or westerly relative to the location of the wind turbine. Current technology lacks wind turbine with more than one set of blades, lack blades that rotate in opposite directions, (e.g. clockwise and counterclockwise in the same tower using different sets of blades), and lack blades that tilt an angle to vertical depending on wind directions.
Natural energy is also harnessed using solar panels. Conventional solar panels are two dimensional (flat) structures typically having a frame typically made of anodized aluminum, a cover of protective tempered antiglare glass, layers of ethylene vinyl acetate binding all the components and protecting the solar cells, the solar cells themselves, an electrically neutral back sheet, and a junction box for transferring electricity from a solar array via connectors and wires.
Conventional solar panels are typically two dimensional flat structures. This flat surface provides only a single focal point of light from the sun on only one cell, if all the panels are at the same level and angle. No prior art discloses a three dimensional structure (ignoring minor panel thickness) to capture solar energy by providing larger surface area for the same base area.
Ocean waves are multi-directional pulsating forces that vary in size and periodicity. An ideal system would extract ocean wave energy at low cost with limited negative impact on marine life, navigation and beaches.
Existing systems include a floating platform that use piston(s) to compress water in serial cylinders resulting in rotation of a flywheel attached to an electric generator. This system captures surface motion but not a deeper massive displacement of ocean water with rising waves.
Also known is a buoy that tilts with wave motion causing a pendulum to rotate around a central shaft converting kinetic energy to electricity.
Some have used floats that are attached to lever arms to compress hydraulic fluid driving an electric generator or convert linear force to rotational force against a submerged platform by mechanical or hydraulic means.
No existing technology utilizes ocean wave motion to generate wind energy and convert the wind energy to electrical energy using wind-driven rotation of wind turbine blades within a piston anchored to the ocean floor.
To date, ocean deployment of electrical generation systems has been limited to either harnessing of wind power or harnessing of wave motion, but not both. Considering the expense of deploying such large and complicated structures so as to withstand the forces of nature, the more energy that is derived from each ocean deployment, the more efficient, and therefore, cost effective is the overall installation.
What is needed is a system that will harness wind power, power from wave motion and solar energy in a common platform.